fess

1 of 2

verb

ˈfes 

fessed; fessing; fesses

intransitive verb

: to own up : confess

—usually used with up

fess

2 of 2

noun

ˈfes 

variants or less commonly fesse

1

: a broad horizontal bar across the middle of a heraldic field

2

: the center point of an armorial escutcheon

Synonyms

Verb

• acknowledge
• admit
• agree
• allow
• concede
• confess
• grant
• own (up to)

Examples of fess in a Sentence

Verb

he fessed up to breaking the antique vase only after his guilt was obvious

at first he denied everything, but eventually he realized that he had no choice but to fess up

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

So c'mon, Alec, fess up, what did Bryce tell you? —CBS News, 1 Nov. 2022

What happens when restaurants don’t fess up? —Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 24 June 2020

Okay, fess up: who made a hole in Mars? —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 21 July 2012

Measurement must, at times, suffice as a substitute for understanding, but measurers must fess up to this fudging up-front—as did the inimitable Richard Feynman. —WIRED, 9 Feb. 2023

Before taking any action make certain to honestly fess up to your advisers about what your real concerns are. —Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023

Before making any major life decisions, Joe needed to fess up to what happened earlier. —Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, 5 Oct. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Verb

short for confess

Noun

Middle English fesse, from Anglo-French faisse band, from Latin fascia — more at fascia

First Known Use

Verb

1840, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fess

• fess up